NBA stars Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley enabled Tiger Woods' downward spiral, one of the golfer's former advisers claims in a story written for the May edition of Vanity Fair.

The 14-page "The Temptation of Tiger Woods" tells in graphic detail elements of Woods' affairs with four of his former mistresses and outlines Woods' destructive behavior, which often started at a blackjack table at the MGM Grand's VIP casino with Jordan and Barkley.

Robert Merchant said he warned his client years ago about Jordan.

"Stay away from that [expletive], because he doesn't have anything to offer to the [expletive] world in which he lives except playing basketball," Woods' adviser told the magazine.

Other details released on Vanity Fair's site:

• Despite Woods' claims that none of his inner circle knew of his behavior, the mistresses claim Woods' childhood friend, his caddie and his agent all knew and acted as enablers by helping cover Woods' tracks.